Knowledge and Faith

This last week I spent time in Orlando, Florida volunteering with a Bible quiz ministry called National Bible Bowl. Teenagers all over the country study portions of the Bible and come together at tournaments to demonstrate knowledge of God’s Word in a unique competition that combines memorization of scripture and recall. The best part of this ministry is that for many of these young people, it is the one ministry that helps develop their faith.

Faith is not built on knowledge, as we have faith in what we cannot see, but knowledge helps build our faith. Knowledge has never saved me from or for anything. I still do not know how the periodical table will give me guidance in my life, but I learned it, and because I learned it, I can see how the elements can combine and create a chemical that can help or heal. With that knowledge, I understand that events occur that I cannot always see but because I know how they work, I believe that they work. It makes sense to me. It’s how I have maintained faith. The knowledge did not give me faith, but it led me to believe in what I could not see with my physical eyes.

Last year I blogged how this Bible quiz ministry is nerdy but very much needed in our churches. I still believe that. We need knowledge that confirms our faith. A cliché that many say, “God said it; I believe it and that’s it” is cute, but how inaccurate it is because many people not even know what God said! It has taken me years in my faith journey to be consistent to open the Bible and read it for my own. I used the Bible to study, but I have to also use it to guide my life with my faith.

As a teacher, I know that when students have knowledge about a subject, they are able to excel at the application of that knowledge. Many of them have resorted to cheating when they do not know and understand. They cheat because with a lack of knowledge they have a lack of faith in themselves and in the system. When people lack knowledge of God’s Word, they begin to say words and live life of how others dictate for them to live, which is cheating themselves from a personal relationship with God. A relationship demands that we know the other person and not just facts about the other person.

The young people and their coaches and parents in this ministry strive to have both knowledge and a faith that requires strength.  Some of the former students in this ministry have become exceptional leaders in their churches and in their communities, and their faith continues to become stronger. Yes, some students have made decisions that have led them away from the church and some from God, but they keep encountering and engaging with those of us who know them and continue to pray for them to encounter God and rekindle a relationship with Him that joins both knowledge and faith. This ministry builds lifelong relationships that those who run from God cannot escape. Those who connect with those who have run continue to pray and show love to them. It’s difficult to be mean when someone is showing you kindness.

The church will begin to thrive as it allows those with knowledge to show their faith and lead in areas of ministry. We are at a crucial time in our history in the American church. We need to incorporate knowledge into our lives along with our faith. The ministry of these Bible quiz teams may be unique, but they are vital to the heartbeat of our churches. In this time in our American history, we need young people who know God’s Word, love those who they encounter and have faith because they have seen how the knowledge builds faith. We need to KNOW God and connect God with those who need to know him. Then, the church will begin to impact the world, and the impact the church makes will be with the love of Jesus. Let’s begin to make that impact.